Phyllis Buckner Meisel died on Jan. 29.  She was born in Boston and spent every summer of her life in Duxbury.  She moved year round to Duxbury in 1986 with her late husband Robert Charles Meisel after residing in Winchester and Wellesley for many years.  Mr. Meisel passed away in 2005. Mrs. Meisel attended The Cathedral Episcopal School for Girls at St. Mary’s in New York. She attended Wheaton College in Norton, and began her career as a second grade teacher at Dedham Country Day School. Following her early educational career, Mrs. Meisel did extensive volunteer work for Wheaton College, The League of Women Voters, The Junior League of Boston and was a trustee for 40 years at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. She was also a former member of The Vincent Club which helped to raise funds to benefit women’s health care at the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1977 Mrs. Meisel earned her Language Clinic Certificate for Education in therapy for Specific Reading Disability in the Orton Gillingham method at Massachusetts General Hospital. Then in 1979, she became the Director of the Reading Disabilities Unit at the Massachusetts General Hospital and ran the Unit for 18 years. In addition to her work at MGH, Mrs. Meisel helped to establish and pioneer a national teacher training program to tutor children with dyslexia with the Children‘s Dyslexia Centers, Inc. She was the Executive Director for Clinical Affairs with the 32 Masonic Learning Centers for Children. Mrs. Meisel was President of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. She also served on the International Dyslexia Association Task Force and Alliance for Certification and Credentialing. Mrs. Meisel was a founding member and board member of the Academy of Orton Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. In 2007, she founded Orton Gillingham Associates, LLC and was the executive director. Mrs. Meisel traveled extensively throughout the world with her husband of 48 years. She was an avid lover of the beach especially Duxbury Beach and the beach at Shipyard Lane. She enjoyed sailing in New England and the Caribbean. Her support of animals in need was evident by the dogs and rescued cats she kept as pets for years. Mrs. Meisel attended and was interested in the theater. She was the chairman of the Duxbury Yacht Club show for many years during the 1980’s.

She leaves her daughter Ellen Walker Meisel Barrett; son-in-law John Ford Barrett; and granddaughter Sophia Buckner Barrett all of Duxbury. A memorial service is being planned for the spring in Duxbury. Her burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Fairy Dogparents, P.O. Box 1342, Duxbury, MA 02331. Phone: 617-359-0938. FairyDogparents.org is a nonprofit organization that helps prevent dogs from being surrendered to shelters.